18 Comments / User Reviews

Andriy S

interesting movie, but i did not find it as interesting as i expected it to be.... Simply shows how his life progressed overall from childhood to 25-35 years old.
I expected some insightful passages to be heard , but did not hear any... only his desire to know the truth... to discover his beings.
If you are curious, you may watch it , it is not boring, yet not very insightful.

Gulshan Dayal

It was interesting documentry, but you will enjoy it more if you have read the book. Gurdjieft was a remarkable man.

Jafer

This is for "Andriy S".

I understand your comment very well. I was very curious throughout the film. When the film unfortunately ended I tried to see the insight it gave me.
I then realized that the insight was to self-observe and from there you will change. The film just emphasized self-observation. Even within the film, @ 1:16:38, that scene sums up the reason why they did not show Ivanovitch Gurdjieff self-realization. There is no reason to because for you to go through self-realization you must self-observe yourself. Only then you will understand. This understanding will be unique and special to you and no one might understand.

Ivanovitch Gurdjieff life seems very strange and different then mine. This is why I found it to be so intriguing. The film also portrays seeking knowledge and understanding to be very fragile. This makes me wonder how approaching different situations in different ways will effect the outcome.

The most interesting outcome that I have received from this film is the question that states whether or not this films effect will be a short term or long term effect on me. I am curious to find out.

radiocitizen

It is not a documentary.It is a dramatisation of the book of the same name, which itself is not an autobiography.

The most important parts of the film are the movement sequences in the last 10 minutes or so.

No name

Classic that shows one mans path to esoteric knowledge and being.

Yes read the book and the other works if this is your thing

Markus

People are either interested in Gurdjieff and his work or they are not. If you are, you'll find this film full of all sorts of interesting ideas, allegories, symbolism and so forth. Just for starters, the whole journey is supposed to be an outer approximation of an INNER quest. In all liklihood, Gurdjieff probably never left Kars.

RexMalaki

This movie can be watched on different levels. To a person who is new to fourth way ideas, it is a story of a man and his search for meaning. The more a person studies the fourth way the more it can be seen that each scenario has some lesson to teach. Rather than start reading "Meeting With Remarkable Men" begin by exploring the fourth way ideas with "In Search of the Miraculous" by P.D. Ouspensky. Then read the Gurdjieff's series "All and Everything". "Meetings" is the second book in the series "All and Everything". I hope this helps in your searches. Namaste.

Derek Crawford

To whom is this movie playing? Nobody who is not familiar with Gurdjieff will find anything in this movie, nor will anybody who is.

One must be intimately familiar with Gurdjieff to understand the exercise of “self-remembering” and its purpose.

In Views From The Real World, Gurdjieff himself says,
“If it seems to you that you can observe yourselves for five minutes, this is wrong; if it is for twenty minutes or for one minute—it is equally wrong. If you simply realize that you cannot, it will be right. To come to it is your aim. To achieve this aim, you must try and try.”

All of mankind is in a deep sleep, and the only way to see it, feel it, sense it, taste it, and know it is to perform this exercise. Until we fully recognize and understand the depths of our sleep, the impression we are observing ourselves simply becomes part of the dream.

Gurdjieff then goes on to say, “If you work conscientiously, you will remember yourselves not more but less, because self-remembering requires many things. It is not so easy, it costs a great deal.

“The exercise of self-observation is sufficient for several years. Do not attempt anything else. If you work conscientiously, you will see what you need.”

So there…:-)

1desertartist

I studied at a Fourth Way School called The Prosperos in California and Hawaii many years ago. Our Dean, Thane Walker, studied with Gurdjieff and Carl Jung and Ghandi of India. Now than I'm older and have had more life experiences, I understand the teachings better. This film heightens my desire to continue to study and learn an even deeper meaning to life. This can't be all there is. Thane taught us that Truth is that which is so. That which is not truth is not so. Therefore, Truth is all there is. Yes, Truth is all there is!

DrDerekLamar

Insight cannot come from some exterior medium but rather it comes from within. I understand that people are not overly impressed with this film. I, however, enjoy it a little more each time I view it. But also I believe that the soundtrack is incredible. If you simply listen to the music it will take you on a journey. But I have been involved in studying and teaching Fourth Way since 1971 and it is a process which takes time. There are no instant "cures" in terms of raising one's consciousness and of course everyone is different and the same at the same time. I personally believe that there are few people who are students of the Fourth Way or Gurdjieff that truly understand the teaching. It isn't just that it is mysterious, but perhaps that in the simplicity of "knowing" or "being" one must "become as a child" to refer to a Teaching of another "Master."

Marcus

Can you still find these schools. Is this true knowledge somewhere. Now days Afghanistan and lot of other Muslim countries are getting so orthodox in their belief that it is impossible to stand other ways of seeking enlightenment beside you. Or is it like that???
I would love idea of pilgrimage through war-zones into secret mountains where mystical orders still endure.

Derek Crawford

People tend to think if you simply explain things to them, they will understand you. This is certainly not the case. You can explain simple arithmetic in a very plain and clear manner, but if you are explaining it to your pet parakeet, he isn’t going to get it. What one is capable of understanding depends upon one’s level of being; how integrated is he; how unified; how complete? To raise one’s level takes long and difficult work. That is why, as you have correctly said, “There are no instant 'cures' in terms of raising one's consciousness.”

The only reality is slow growth…:-)

Derek Crawford

Derek Crawford

Truth is not hidden; it need not be sought out. Truth is on every hand. Yes, this truth is “somewhere.” It is in you. You are truth. You need not leave the ground on which you stand…:-)

Byron Michael Omboy

This inspiring movie is about the journey of a seeker. It doesn't matter if that deep calling from the heart is metaphysical/mystical path. The most important thing is that relentless pursuit. Each soul has varying degrees of the concept of enlightenment/salvation and thus different paths of addressing that search... As a Sant Mat devotee, I can very well relate from this movie... Very inspiring.

Artelj

I watched it on a level where I think these people were idiots "looking" for truth. Where they should have realized they were already it, "God", the universe and no searching were needed.

Faisal Rehman

I could be wrong........well!! .. i was mostly wrong throughout my life about most of the things. but here is what i think......
Everything around me is defined by my brain. This, everything, is my reality. My reality is like a circle around me and i am standing in this circle. Getting out of this circle is like getting out of my brain. This very thought "how to get out of my brain to observe my true self" is like an in-put given to the processer (my brain) to get an out-put. So whatever the out-put is given by my brain is the same very reality i am trying to get out of. See the problem and complexity here we are dealing with........congratulations it's just the beginning.

student.

Rebekah Copas

I think the comment below needed the input of Gurdjieff's stating, (I read in Ouspensky, but I will avoid recommending reading Ouspensky, at least not without first reading Beelzebub's Tales To His Grandson, . . . being that which comes before Meetings With Remarkable Men), that we need reserve a small portion of our own interior, brainpower, for the work of nothing other than self observation, that such self observation might eventually become self remembering, and self knowledge. But the lesson thus, is clearly, specifically taught for those of us capable of placing such a part of our brain, and brainpower, in reserve, for this process alone. Even Gurdjieff did not understand that he did not yet have sufficient self remembering, until in his last days, announcing he only then truly knew himself as one man, doing. But such are his lessons worth, in that he never claimed higher, but knew the worth of a struggle with ones self, within ones self, and selves, nevertheless.

Connie Liakos

Whether or not you're a fan of Gurdjieff or even if you have never heard of him, this movie is worth watching for the incredible scenery, music, dances, etc. I was mesmerized and moved by a life vastly different than any I could ever have imagined.